a click and a bang
by momorona
Summary: It was supposed to be a standard raid, protocol. Something they'd done thousands of times before. Let it be known that Gokudera hated funerals. Character death.


_**Pairing: D59**_

**Prompt: **My muse accidentally killing yours;; for brokennnlungs of tumblr

**Summary:** It was supposed to be a standard raid, protocol. Something they'd done thousands of times before. Let it be known that Gokudera _hated _funerals.

**A Click and a Bang**

Tsuna took the news terribly, nothing all too surprising there. Gokudera really hadn't wanted to be the deliverer of the news, but it was his fault to begin with, so he had to bear the burden of responsibility. Or so he told himself. But, he was just as rattled as Tsuna was.

This was _Dino_. Dino was _invincible_. Or, at least… He was _supposed _to be. Ten years and countless falls and stumbles… Ten years and innumerable battles and Dino had never, not once, been cut down. He'd never even been hospitalized for _too _long. He was always up and raring to go within a few weeks, no matter what the doctor's said.

Hibari was adamantium, Dino was titanium, neither of them could simply just be… Well…

Hibari was alive. Dino was not. Albeit, Hibari was in the hospital (with Chrome, as Tsuna had sent her with the temperamental cloud) and being _bribed _to stay there (and Gokudera wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly how that was being done). He wasn't even present for Dino's funeral – not that he would have come due to crowding, but Tsuna had made absolutely certain that Hibari Kyoya would _not _be there, that he would stay in the hospital.

Especially since everyone knew that Gokudera was the one responsible, loathe as anyone was to admit it. Hibari probably would have decked Gokudera in the face, not that he needed Dino's death as an excuse, but Dino had been an influence on everyone, Hibari most of all.

Gokudera stared blankly at Dino's casket. It couldn't even be open, the damage was that bad – it had been beyond any expert's repair. Ha. Expert. Fucking funeral home make-up artists and reconstructionists. What a fucking joke. Even if the damage to Dino's body _had _been fixable to allow for open-casket, Dino would have disapproved of the make-up that would have been _painted _on to make him look "decent." Without meaning to, Gokudera snorted derisively, only realizing his mistake when Tsuna cast him a scathing look of disapproval. Automatically, he flinched and mumbled an apology.

Right. It was disrespectful to snort at a funeral. Dino probably would have laughed, though. If he'd known what was on Gokudera's mind. He probably would, too. Cavallone bastard. Always read Gokudera like an open book. That meant he _knew _that Gokudera would be worse off than anyone at this funeral. Guilt-ridden. Regretful. Anguished.

Sure, Tsuna loved Dino – but it was a platonic, familial love that came with years of being essential siblings, brothers in arms. But Gokudera? Gokudera had been dragged into something far deeper than that (kicking and screaming, of course, and occasionally shouting 'assault' while Dino laughed good-humoredly). For maybe… Two – three? – years, Gokudera had shared a bed with the blonde mafia don lying in the cold casket, had been artfully courted for years longer. Now it was over. It was over with the startling, jarring decisiveness of death, of scarlet blood on the silverette's hands. Blood that would haunt him to his grave – blood that he'd never wanted, intended, to have on his hands. It just wasn't possible.

But the casket in front of him was evidence enough to prove that Dino was not coming back. He would never come back. There was no coming back to life, no reincarnation (fuck Mukuro's so-called six lives), no afterlife. No more smiling, cheerful blonde to take the day's edge away.

Gokudera choked on the lump in his throat. He wouldn't. No. He wouldn't. There was no way he was going to break down in front of so many people. Even fucking _Mukuro _had shown up out of respect – what the _fuck _did Dino do to get _that _out of Mukuro? Dino wasn't even his boss. The slimy bastard hadn't even shown up for _Tsuna's – his boss's – _funeral in the future-that-never-happened. Tch.

Dino wasn't even supposed to _be _there. It was supposed to be a standard raid, protocol. Something they'd done thousands of times before. Then again, everything _had _seemed a little _too _easy for comfort. If only Gokudera had noticed it sooner. But, intuition wasn't his strong suit. Intuition was for Dino. And Tsuna.

Gokudera was supposed to be a good shot. Never missed a target. And he didn't. The shot had been dead on, perfect accuracy. It was the target that put Dino in the way of that shot, using Dino's whip as leverage. If Dino had just… Let go. But he couldn't. Wouldn't. Letting go meant the target getting away. So the shot meant for the target's head hit Dino in the chest, dead center.

The target didn't make it out alive, though. He was still tangled in Dino's whip, and Dino was now dead wait – if still barely breathing. The target didn't even have time to reflect on his error before he was effectively mangled beyond recognition, Gokudera's rage overpowering any rational thought to bring the fucker in alive for Hibari or Tsuna (who could be ruthless when the situation called for it) to deal with.

Once the target had been sufficiently dealt with, Gokudera started toward Dino. Despite being on death's door, the blonde's honey gold eyes were clearer than ever. One last look of unconditional adoration before the blonde spat blood from his mouth and uttered his last word.

_Run_.

And that was when explosives went off and the building came down. Gokudera didn't quite make it out unscathed, but Dino…

Dino was still in there, a shot through the chest, already cold with death. Gokudera couldn't help it. He fell on his ass, staring at the rubble of the building, and cried. He cried until his throat went hoarse and his eyes stung from salt and bacteria in his tears. It took him an hour to get back to his feet and dig Dino's body out of the debris.

Gokudera choked again, earning more looks from other funeral attendees. He couldn't break down. Only Tsuna – only Romario – had known about what he shared with Dino. They gave him sympathetic looks (any previous scolding about the snort had withered away into pity). Tsuna finally left Gokudera's side to go give the eulogy.

Halfway through it, Gokudera had to leave.

But he couldn't go home, either. Home was where Dino had thoroughly weaseled his way in. Instead, he went to the manor, intending to work. Except, his mind kept wandering back to Dino. Back to his closed casket, his mangled body. That last look in his eyes, that last word he'd ever said. Gokudera choked on a sob and slammed his fist onto his desk.

_"Bastard…"_


End file.
